LAGOS DECEMBER 17TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain and former Delta State Gubernatorial Aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has condemned the proliferation of means of identification in Nigeria,   describing it as waste of funds, time, human resources and misplacement of priorities.

Onuesoke who made the statement recently while addressing newsmen in Asaba, Delta State  wondered why  did  Government   duplicate in a most inefficient manner different forms of identifications for different events when all one needs is just  a credible form of identification.

The PDP Chieftain  noted  that the information on individuals currently being sought by  government for registration of National Identification Number (NIN)  already existed in several platforms through multiple citizen’s collection data platforms such as the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), international passport, driver’s license, SIM card registration and voters’ card.

He explained that the statutory duty to harmonize and integrate existing data for the purposes of NIN and SIM card registration should not be difficult to carry out, as the Nigeria Immigration Service, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) are already members of the Board of the NIMC by virtue of section 2[1][b] of the NIMC Act.

Onuesoke disclosed that in  US for example, all that one  need to vote is identity  like a drivers license,  just as he  explained that  after capturing all the needed information on one’s  drivers licence, passport, NIN, SIM registration and BVN registration, you do not need to do it all over again for something like Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

According to him, “In a country with almost nothing to offer, we have too many IDs that serve no beneficial purpose to the people. What is  the essence of multiple identification for the same purpose in Nigeria? This is wasteful.

“You don’t even need an ID  in United Kingdom. Your name is already there. Just tell them your name and address. Why am I using US and UK as example. People will think it is big thing. African countries like Togo, South African even Ivory Coast use their ID to vote. For Nigeria to work we need a single working ID card.

“I have been saying this. With the records from NIN and BVN, issues like underage voting could be easily tackled. But the identity mess has created another problem. With  BVN, we can ensure each vote is cast just once. Why do we need other biometric data banks when NIBBS has the most trustworthy,” he queried.